


orange hearts and plastic skeletons

by thefullergirl



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Doyoung works at a Halloween shop, First Meetings, Flirting, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mentioned WayV Ensemble, Xiaojun is flustered, i just love them okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefullergirl/pseuds/thefullergirl
Summary: Dejun was really just here to get Halloween decor.He didn’t even register the tinkling of the door chime when he comes in, but it must have, because a head peeks out from what looks like a whole rack of Halloween costumes. Dejun nearly jumps, but he manages with just a tiny step back.“Hi there,” the head greets, gummy smile spreading across his features. “Here for the 20% off on fake blood?”“What? Uh...no, I’m-I’m not.” Dejun shakes his head, and he doesn’t remember when he spaced out. Must be the smile. “Was sent here to buy decor.”That's all he's here for, swear.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 26
Kudos: 179





	orange hearts and plastic skeletons

**Author's Note:**

> i promised i'd write them a little something if i get a selca of them together and they delivered

Dejun was really just here to get Halloween decor.

Honestly, he’s not sure why Kun chose him of all people to choose the decor. It’s not like he’s an expert on this whole decorating thing, especially for something this specific. As he walks up to the store, Dejun wonders why Kun didn’t just get Ten to do this.

But well, whatever. He can just grab whatever is in the Halloween section and get out of there. 

Pushing into the store, Dejun almost runs into a cotton cobweb. He steps around it, shuffling closer inside until the scent of a cinnamon candle is in every lungful he takes. Somehow, he manages to not knock over a plastic skeleton, so that’s already a win.

He didn’t even register the tinkling of the door chime, but it must have, because a head peeks out from what looks like a whole rack of Halloween costumes. Dejun nearly jumps, but he manages with just a tiny step back.

“Hi there,” the head greets, gummy smile spreading across his features. “Here for the 20% off on fake blood?”

“What? Uh...no, I’m-I’m not.” Dejun shakes his head, and he doesn’t remember when he spaced out. Must be the smile. “Was sent here to buy decor.”

“You’re just in luck,” the man says, stepping out of the rack. He has a shirt that says ‘not a ghost, just dead inside’ in almost fluorescent white against black. “We just got a new shipment of decor today.”

Dejun follows him further into the store, which is actually pretty neat, save for the cotton cobwebs nearly everywhere. They pass the shelves full of supplies for prosthetic makeup, and the large jars of what Dejun guesses is the discounted fake blood. He tries his best to keep his hands close to himself to prevent running them all over the hangers upon hangers of glittery, gauzy costumes.

They pause at one section, all packed shelves and every sort of toy store Halloween decor there is in this city. It’s almost a solid wall of black and orange, with the occasional bloody addition or a handful of skulls on a string.

“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” the man asks, reappearing by his side with a basket in hand. His nametag says  _ Doyoung. _

Gingerly, Dejun takes the basket from him, stepping forward to look at all the varieties on the shelf. “Uh. This really isn’t my area.” He winces.

Doyoung gives him another smile. Dejun thinks he blanks out for another moment. “I’ll help you then.”

Over what feels like both an hour and maybe 20 minutes, Doyoung has laden his basket with enough plastic bags that Dejun has to get another basket. Kun did give him the card and didn’t even tell him about a limit, so he might as well go all out for this. After all, the rest of them would probably have a lot of fun putting these up while he rewatched  _ Ghostbusters. _

(“What are you, 12?”

“Fuck off, it’s a classic.”)

And it’s not like Doyoung picks just anything. He gets the bestselling ones, along with some personal picks. He shows Dejun everything he picks, and it’s difficult to say no to him, Dejun has found. He’s got that smile that’s brighter than any sunlight they’ve gotten in October, and such a melodic tone to his voice that Dejun briefly wonders if he sings.

He even carries both baskets to the counter, insisting on it even though Dejun is fully capable of carrying at least one. Doyoung scans all the items, and as Dejun peers at the total, he realizes that it has a discount he didn’t actually know he’d get.

Just as he’s about to leave, Doyoung slips a little lollipop in the bags, and Dejun is surprised. He’s fighting down the little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he goes out of the store.

At home, he sees the lollipop is a perfect little orange heart.

“You’re going as  _ what?” _

“A sexy ladybug.” Xuxi wiggles his brows, throwing a scarf around his neck. 

“How the hell is a ladybug sexy?”

“Just come with me. You need a costume too, you know.”

No, he doesn’t. Dejun is perfectly fine with staying at his room for the entirety of this huge party they’re going to have. He has that big bag of gummy candy he got from the supermarket and all the movies he wants to watch already downloaded on his Netflix. He really does not need to be in costume.

But he gets dragged out anyways, presumably to one of the many costume stores in the city. Damn Xuxi and his ability to practically throw him onto his shoulder and tote him to the store.

Ten calls out to say they should look for fake spiders right before the door closes behind them.

They speedwalk (or rather, Dejun speedwalks, Xuxi looks like he’s just enjoying the October air) to the store, and Dejun is a little too winded to notice that it’s the same store he bought the decor from. Of course, it makes sense, since it’s the closest to their shared apartment. He’s about to say that to Xuxi but the other man’s already pushing the glass door.

“Hello!” comes Doyoung’s voice, although Dejun can’t see him. “Be with you in a second.”

Xuxi greets him back, and as he steps further into the store, Dejun wonders how he was able to avoid all the cobwebs with that height of his. Lingering by the door, Dejun busies himself with looking at the display of Halloween-inspired candles.

It’s not long before Doyoung arrives, light-up devil horns on top of his head. He looks a little frazzled, but the smile doesn’t quite waver. 

“Hi.” His black shirt and jeans have glitter on them from all the decor and costumes probably, and he’s trying to dust them off. “Looking for anything?”

“A sexy ladybug costume,” Xuxi says simply, and Dejun has the urge to run out of this store right now. 

Doyoung’s brows raise, but he doesn’t even flinch otherwise. He just makes a swooping gesture with his arm to signal the way, and they follow. For a brief moment, Dejun wonders if Doyoung registers who he is.

Which, well, he really shouldn’t hope for. They’ve interacted exactly once, and it’s unlikely that Doyoung would remember him after the inevitable surge of people coming here for Halloween stuff. He thinks back to the lollipop, and then tells himself the guy’s just doing some marketing.

After a few moments of perusing, Doyoung pulls out the largest size they have for the sexy ladybug costume, and Dejun can barely believe how much Xuxi’s face lights up. It’s like seeing a child be given the whole bowl of candy.

While Xuxi goes into a dressing room to try it on, Dejun idly passes his hand through the rack of costumes. He allows himself this now, because it’s not like he has much else to do.

And Doyoung, ever-observant, steps a little closer to him. “Looking for a costume too?”

Dejun looks up at him, a tiny bit flustered. There’s his voice, just a bit lower because he’s speaking quieter, and he finds himself at a loss for words for a few beats.

“Oh, uh...yeah.”

There’s that smile again, gentler now, and so, so warm, and a tiny part of Dejun kind of wants to trace it with his fingertips.

Doyoung looks through the different costumes on the rack, seemingly trying to find one for him. “What would you like to be?” he asks in Chinese, and Dejun gets whiplash from turning to look at him.

Before he can fully process that Doyoung has just spoken to him in Chinese (and with pretty good pronunciation to boot), the guy’s already pulled out a costume, holding it out for him.

“Vampire,” he says, and it’s not a question. It’s all dark red velvet-esque material and silk, blood-red fake jewels embellishing it. “A classic.”

He looks determined about his choice, and really who is Dejun to deny him? Taking it gingerly from him, Dejun shuffles closer to the lone dressing room.

Within a few moments, the curtain gets pushed to the sight and Xuxi steps out, abso-fucking-lutely proud. The costume very barely covers the stuff it’s supposed to cover, and it’s still dangerous because every time Xuxi wiggles to make his tiny wing flap, everything rides up. Doyoung, kind as he is, is trying to muffle his laughter behind a hand. There’s no doubt in Dejun’s mind that Kun is going to have a conniption over this.

A huge mirror is wheeled closer, and Xuxi checks himself out in it. He looks absolutely pleased to see himself in this frilly little red thing, polka-dot stockings and all. Dejun is honestly impressed he carries it that well.

“I’ll take it,” Xuxi says, flashing Doyoung his toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile. Doyoung only nods, biting back his giggles as he gets the plastic bag that will hold the costume.

It takes some maneuvering (and a good handful of Doyoung’s help) for Xuxi to get out of it, and he’s a little flushed by the time he gets out of the dressing room. Dejun thinks he looks like he just won the lottery with that glow.

Xuxi catches him looking, quirks a corner of his mouth up. “Jealous you can’t make a bra and wings look good?”

Dejun really doesn’t have the strength to shove him away, but he would if he could. “Move, I need to try my costume.”

It takes a bit to shimmy out of his clothes, and he can hear Xuxi animatedly talking to Doyoung.  They seem to be switching between Korean and Mandarin, and although Doyoung’s replies are a tiny bit slow and careful, Dejun finds it endearing that he’s trying. He realizes that he must have heard them talk when they came in, and is doing his best to make conversation with them.

The costume has a lot of pieces, but they’re pretty easy to put on. He’s still sweating a bit from being in the cramped dressing room, but overall, not too bad. It fits him well for something straight off a rack, and the parts that don’t quite fit he can try to adjust (else he’ll ask Guanheng for some help).

He peeks his head out the curtain, and he swears he can see Doyoung perk up. Both he and Xuxi come over, and Dejun shyly shows off the costume. There’s whoops of approval from Xuxi, saying it suits him so well and that he’d match perfectly with Yangyang’s witch costume. Doyoung is standing to the side, head tilted and seeming to admire him.

“Looks perfect on you,” he says oh-so-softly, and Dejun melts a little.

Both costumes are paid for, and they say goodbye to Doyoung. He manages a little goodbye, sneaking in a  _ zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài _ that makes Xuxi grin. Dejun knows all too well he’s smiling too.

When they get home, Dejun finds a handful of the orange heart lollipops in their shopping bags.

Doyoung opens the door this time. Dejun would have run straight into him if he didn’t instinctively lean back.

“Oh, hi.” Doyoung has a small box in his hands, and he looks like he’s going somewhere. “Um. You can stay inside if you want. Just gotta pop by next door.” He tilts his head, and Dejun knows the next store is the candy store.

He only nods, and holds the door open. Doyoung says a soft  _ xièxiè _ to him, and Dejun feels himself flush.

The store smells like sugar today, he notes as he steps inside. A bit like how it smells when Kun makes caramel popcorn at their apartment. He breathes it in, busies himself with toying with the plastic skeleton’s hand.

Before he can think of exploring the prosthetics section of the store, Doyoung comes back, a little winded. He still flashes Dejun that smile of his, and Dejun thinks he’ll most likely never be able to fully push down the tiny jump his heart does every time he sees it.

“I’m starting to think you’re coming here for me,” Doyoung jokes, adjusting the bunny ears headband he has on. “Third time in a row, right?”

Dejun tries not to make it obvious that he’s frozen to the spot. “Can’t-can’t help it. I have a lot of Halloween plans.”

A lie, but cute salesperson Doyoung doesn’t need to know that.

Brows raising, Doyoung nods. “That’s exciting. What’re you here for today?”

“I’m gonna take you up on that offer of fake blood now.”

Doyoung is clearly surprised by this, judging by the way his eyes widen and he’s blinking all too fast. “Uh, what?”

“The blood. I uh...need the 20% off fake blood.”

Doyoung bursts into giggles at that, still disbelieving. He checks to see if Dejun is really serious, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself.

“Okay, okay, come on.”

Dejun is lead to the section with what he had guessed were the jars of fake blood. To his surprise, Doyoung hauls out a huge box with red canisters, showing them proudly like they’re his kids.

“Not the most realistic but it can do.” Doyoung takes out one of the canisters, puts it into Dejun’s hands. It’s heavier than he had expected it to be. “I’ll give it to you for half off.”

He takes two canisters.

As Doyoung rings up his purchase, he pipes up. “Your store smells like candy.”

Looking up from punching in the keys, Doyoung blinks a handful of times. “Oh. Yeah. Taeyongie next door makes these large batches of candy, and the smell always seeps through here. I get the lollipops from him.”

Dejun nods, his eyes finding the glass fishbowl full of brightly colored candy. He taps at it with his fingers.

“Thank you for them, by the way. And uh, for everything.”

When he looks up, Doyoung has that smile again, and Dejun kinda feels like warm spun sugar all of a sudden. “No prob.”

The huge paper bag is handed to him, and Doyoung gently reminds him to support the bottom of it. He walks Dejun to the door, waves him goodbye.

Dejun pops one of the orange lollipops into his mouth the moment he gets home.

“And  _ why _ exactly are you going trick-or-treating? Aren’t you like, 20?”

Yangyang only fixes his wizard’s cloak around his shoulders. “Nobody put an age limit to getting candy.”

He has no choice but to trudge along, because this is already the 5th time someone has attempted to get him out of his room. The party is in full swing at their apartment, with Sicheng betting chocolate coins on a card game and Guanheng chugging that mysterious neon green concoction Ten made. Xuxi is fully bodying his costume as he grabs someone’s costume prop and sings  _ Toxic _ in front of everyone. Dejun isn’t sure he wants to know where absolute party animal Kun is.

At least with Yangyang and his trip to find candy to fill his sparkly pouch, he can have some relative peace, even when it seems like everyone on their block wants to come at them with plastic knives and not-so-threatening growls.

“There’s this house up this street that they say has  _ the _ best candies. Like, handmade ones.”

Dejun hums, clutching his own cloak closer to himself to avoid the puddles on the street. “What, do you have a whole friend group of seven-year-olds or something?”

“Excuse me, Donghyuck is the same age as me, and he knows all the great places to get the stuff.”

With a sigh, he trudges on. There’s a good number of people outside, laughing with friends or walking on their way to the parties. Dejun briefly wonders if any of them are going to the one at their apartment.

Yangyang is squinting at the house numbers, up until he sees the one. Dejun knows, because his entire face lights up in the dim glow of the streetlamps.

“There!”

He’s practically dragged to it, his shoes not really made for damp pavements. Yangyang is quick, getting through the maze of Halloween decor to get to the door, narrowly missing a handful of kids that just came from there.

Once Dejun has caught up, he immediately gets an elbow in his ribs. “Do we just ring the doorbell?”

Rolling his eyes, Dejun rings it for him. He can’t quite believe he was dragged all the way here and the kid doesn’t even know how to do this. 

There’s some shuffling on the other side, muffled music. Dejun stands back, tells Yangyang to do the same so that they’re not too close.

It opens to an all-too-familiar gummy smile, and Dejun feels just about as undead as his costume.

“Doyoung?” he blurts out before he can stop himself. He can feel Yangyang staring at him.

He’s in what Dejun guesses is a grim reaper costume, all dark tattered robes and the scythe in hand. “Now I’m really gonna start thinking you like me.”

Yangyang is spluttering beside him, most likely very confused. “Wait, who in the -”

“Trick or treat!” Dejun says, a little too loudly. It startles both Doyoung and Yangyang, and he fights shrinking back into the night. “We uh...My friend here saw somewhere that this place has the best candy.”

Corner of his mouth tilting up, Doyoung grabs a bowl from beside the door. He waits until Yangyang has opened his pouch before dumping a good amount into it.

“I guess you can say that.” The pouch is almost filled to the top when he’s done. Yangyang just gapes at him doing it.

The last handful he holds out to Dejun. “Can’t have you leaving empty-handed.”

When they leave, Yangyang has a slew of questions for him. Dejun doesn’t answer any of them, just stares ahead at their path. The candy is still in his hands, and he can’t get himself to shove them into his pocket.

They go home after that, Yangyang already pleased with his treats. He bounds inside to their apartment, and Dejun can feel the music thrum through his veins even while he’s standing outside.

Opening his palm, he sees the candy, all pretty holographic wrapping. In the middle of it, a lone note in orange paper.

_ I’m sweeter than candy - 09xxxxxxxxx _

With a chuckle, Dejun takes out his phone, texts the number.

**[me]** **  
** **I’m hoping this is for me and not for my friend** **  
** **This is the vamp, btw**

**[doyoung]** **  
** **omygod that actually worked** **  
** **I told taeyong it wouldn’t work** **  
** **anyways** **  
** **the claim still stands** **  
** **I AM pretty sweet**

Laughing, Dejun unwraps one of the candies, and pops it into his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading this! it got a little longer than i expected it to be lol but i hope you enjoyed ~
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/bundoie) | [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/bundoie)


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